Wanderlust · 6 min read · August 8, 2025

10 beach reads to check out for your next holiday

Short on time? Let us summarise this guide for you.

Sophie Haydock shares her favourite beach reads, each offering a unique form of escape. From Lisa Jewell's gripping thriller Don't Let Him In to the gothic suspense of The Safekeep and the genre-bending time-travel romance The Ministry of Time, these books are perfect for holiday reading. Her picks also include classics like Bonjour Tristesse, indulgent sequels like Vianne, and bold contemporary novels such as Disappoint Me. There's short fiction in Openings, fierce humour in The Revenge Club, soulful travel writing in Around the World by Night Train, and a dose of art and passion in her own novel, Madame Matisse. Whether read on a beach, train, or in your garden, each book promises to transport you.

We've teamed up with the award-winning Author of The Flames and Madame Matisse to bring you the ultimate beach reads for 2025. No beach break coming up? Cosy coffee shops and lumpy armchairs work just as well.

Author Sophie Haydock

Sophie Haydock is an award-winning author, book festival curator and journalist, known for her powerful storytelling and bold exploration of hidden histories. Find out more about her.

My favourite beach reads (and the surprising places they've taken me)

By Sophie Haydock

There's something magical about reading on holiday. Time slows. Your shoulders drop. Suddenly, a story isn't just something you're reading – it's something you're in. A book becomes inseparable from the place you read it: a novel devoured under the sun in Sicily, a memoir absorbed on a long-haul flight, a thriller consumed by torchlight in a tent.

As curator of the Folkestone Book Festival, held in a creative coastal town in Kent, here are summer reads I've loved, each perfect for travel, escape or a quiet moment in the sun. Several are from authors appearing at this year's festival. Each promises to take you somewhere new.

Don't Let Him In by Lisa Jewell

For a twisty thriller that'll keep you turning pages long after sunset.

Jewell knows how to hook a reader, and this new novel – about a woman whose life begins to unravel after meeting a handsome stranger – is one of her best. I read it on a lounger with a glass of chilled G&T and practically finished it before the ice melted.

The Safekeep by Yael van der Wouden

For dark secrets, creaking floorboards and postwar gothic atmosphere.

I read this on a drizzly day in Folkestone, but it transported me completely – to a crumbling house in the Dutch countryside where nothing is quite as it seems. It's about obsession, inheritance, and the stories we bury. A slow-burn beauty, ideal for quiet afternoons when the weather shifts. Winner of this year's Women's Prize for Fiction.

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In Holiday Reads Jul 29, 2025

The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley

For a clever escape into love, time travel and identity.

This genre-bending debut is utterly gripping – a romance between a government worker and a 19th-century Arctic explorer brought to modern-day London. It's witty, sexy and poignant, with sharp political undertones and a haunting sense of displacement.

I read it while away with friends, but its ideas stayed with me long after I returned. Kaliane Bradley is one of the most exciting new voices I've encountered, and I can't wait to read whatever she writes next.

Bonjour Tristesse by Françoise Sagan

For vintage Riviera glamour and teenage rebellion.

Sagan was just 18 when she wrote this slim, sultry classic in 1954, but it has the world-weary sharpness of someone far older – its title translates as "Hello Sadness".

Set on the French coast, it centres on the teenage Cécile, during one intense, hot summer that will change her life. I first read it at twenty-one, while teaching English in the south of France – a copy tucked into my bike basket. It's a book I return to every few years, and it never loses its sting.

Openings by Lucy Caldwell

For luminous, unsettling short fiction that cracks you open.

These thirteen short stories feel deceptively quiet at first – domestic moments exploring motherhood and marriage, marked with subtle tensions – but each one lands with startling resonance.

Caldwell, winner of the BBC National Short Story Award (and championed by Sex and the City's Sarah Jessica Parker, no less), has a rare gift for capturing female interiority with precision and grace. A must-read for lovers of the short form.

Vianne by Joanne Harris

For indulgence, magic and second acts.

Twenty-five years after the runaway hit of Chocolat, Harris returns to Vianne Rocher – now older, wiser, and navigating new challenges in a changed world.

This sequel is sumptuous, emotional, and full of the sensory pleasures Harris is known for. I'm thrilled that Joanne will open this year's Folkestone Book Festival. This novel is the literary equivalent of a square of dark chocolate slowly melting on the tongue.

Disappoint Me by Nicola Dinan

For a bold, modern take on identity, intimacy and transformation.

This dazzling second novel by Nicola Dinnan explores a couple navigating gender transition, toxic masculinity, millennial ennui, heartbreak, and the blurry edges of love.

It's deeply human and occasionally hilarious – a novel unafraid of messiness. Dinan is part of a thrilling new wave of British literary talent redefining what a "relationship story" can look like. Expect to highlight many lines per page, to and to be sending screenshots to your friends.

The Revenge Club by Kathy Lette

For fierce female friendships and righteous fury.

Comedian Kathy Lette's latest is a whip-smart, high-octane tale of betrayal, sisterhood and unapologetic vengeance. When a group of wronged women realise their exes have more in common than bad behaviour, they form an unlikely alliance and plot the ultimate comeback. It's outrageous, pacey and full of punchlines with purpose.

Best enjoyed at 30,000 feet, ideally with a complimentary drink and fierce side-eye at any manspreaders nearby.

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Around the World by Night Train by Monisha Rajesh

For those who prefer their reading paired with real-world travel.

This glorious piece of travel writing takes you across continents and through time zones – from Arctic Norway to southern Japan – all under the stars.

I've long been obsessed with train travel (having once taken a 52-hour train into Tibet), and Rajesh is the perfect narrator: curious, honest, and quietly awe-struck by the world. This is a book about connection – between landscapes, cultures, and fellow travellers. You'll want to book a berth immediately.

Madame Matisse by Sophie Haydock

For armchair travel through the art salons of Paris and sun-soaked Nice.

Forgive the indulgence, but I have to include my own novel – a sensual, feminist reimagining of the women behind Henri Matisse's most iconic artworks. It's a story of colour, passion and sacrifice, spanning decades and continents.

I wrote having been inspired in France – from Montmartre to Collioure – and I hope it carries you there, too. My debut, The Flames, was set in Vienna at the turn of the 20th century – a very decadent moment in time.

Researching it took me to the Leopold Museum, the cafés of the Ringstrasse, and across the border to Ceský Krumlov – formerly Krumau – a fairytale town that quietly pulses with artistic ghosts.

Buy your favourite book from this list

Any of these books catch your eye? Buy it now on the Waterstones website and get ready for your next getaway.

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So whether you're flying somewhere exotic, road-tripping across the UK, or simply unwinding in the garden with your feet up, I hope one of these books finds you at just the right moment. May it be dog-eared, sun-creased, and unforgettable.